Bilingualism and emotions1

While several scholars have examined the influence of emotions on bilingual performance (Anooshian and Hertel 1994; Bond and Lai 1986; Javier and Marcos 1989) and second language learning and use (Arnold 1999; Schumann 1994, 1997, 1999), to date very little is known about ways in which bilinguals talk about emotions in their two languages. The present study investigates discursive construction of emotions in the two languages of Russian English bilinguals. Previous studies (Pavlenko 2002; Wierzbicka 1992, 1998, 1999) have demonstrated that Russian and English differ in ways in which emotions are conceptualized and framed in discourse. The goal of the present study is to examine ways in which late Russian English bilinguals, who learned their English post puberty, negotiate these differences in narratives elicited in both languages. It will be argued that in cases where the two speech communities differ in the conceptualization of emotions, the process of second language socialization may result in the conceptual restructuring of emotion categories of adult language learners, as evident in instances of second language influence on first language performance.